Lawn aeration involves making holes in the lawn either by pushing a rod into the lawn or by “coring,” which includes extracting a plug of soil. By aerating your lawn you provide the following benefits to your lawn and its root system: oxygen gets to the roots and the soil allowing it to “breathe”; organic fertilizers and nutrients get access to the root system; water is able to better soak the soil and reach the root system; helps to break up thatch; and tight, compacted soil is loosened up allowing the root system to grow.
Presently, lawn aeration is done by either a walk behind aerator, or a tow behind aerator. Walk behind aerators are similar to push lawn mowers, in that an operator pushes the aerator around a lawn while the machine cores the lawn. Therefore, walk behind aerators are limited by the speed of walking. Furthermore, as walk behind aerators need to be controlled by an operator, the size is limited. Typical walk behind aerators are limited to a 19-20 inch width of ground that can be aerated by each pass of the machine. Thus, walk behind aerators cause the aerating jobs to take longer, and are more tiring to the operator.
Tow behind aerators generally include aerators that can be attached to a garden tractor, as well as aerators that are attached via a three-point hitch to larger, sub compact tractors. Tow behind aerators that can be attached to a garden tractor are limited by the fact that they have to be manipulated, i.e. the rotating tines have to be raised, when the aerator is to cross a sidewalk, driveway, porch, or other structure that could be damaged by the rotating tines. The combination of straight lines and having to manipulate the aerators adds a great amount of time to the aerating process, and limits the area of lawn that can be aerated by the device.
Aerators that can be attached via a three-point hitch of a larger, sub compact tractor are also limited in use. The sub compact tractors are much more expensive than garden tractors, on the magnitude of approximately five times more expensive. Furthermore, while the larger tractors are able to support a wider aerator, problems exist when the lawn includes a gate or narrow pass between houses or other objects. The tractor and aerator are not able to fit between the narrower passes. The three point hitches also have the problem of only allowing the aerator to follow in a straight line. Any turning can tear up a lawn.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a tow behind aerator that overcomes the deficiencies in the art, such as attaching to a garden tractor, being able to turn while aerating, and attaching such that it is not cumbersome to cross a concrete, stone, or other material to reach an additional part of a yard.